July 2007

4th July 2007

10:40 AM — A German aristocrat famed for his libertine lifestyle has been found dead in his apartment in London.Count Gottfried von Bismarck, who was 44, was discovered by paramedics over the weekend. It is thought he died of a drug overdose.The Count was first thrust into the tabloid limelight as a student at Oxford in 1986, when the 22-year-old daughter of Tory Cabinet minister Paul Channon died at one of his notorious parties.

10:24 AM — For some reason whenever you get a group of gay people in a place outside of a club or a pride parade everyone seems to get up in arms.That is enhanced when the group is stepping on sacred ground where only "straight" people are allowed to go, and a sports arena is perceived to be as straight as you can get.This month Petco Park in San Diego is holding an event that has already gotten people riled up over what seemed like a simple idea.

10:11 AM — A teenager has been found guilty of aggravated battery, but not of hate crime by a juvenile judge in Palm Beach Country, Florida, today.In June 2006, the then 17-year old beat a 39-year old trans-woman, according to his attorney out of self-defence.The woman claims that the teen was sexually aggressive towards her, although she had told him that she was not a biological woman.

3rd July 2007

6:13 PM — PinkNews.co.uk exclusive Channel 4 has defended itself against accusations that it treats gay slurs less seriously than racist language on reality show Big Brother. On Sunday a female contestant called one of the men a 'poof,' yet no action was taken against her. PinkNews.co.uk readers have expressed their disgust at what they see as a double standard.

5:16 PM — Sweden's largest gay festival will kick off at the end of the month.Stockholm Pride will be celebrated with a sports theme this year, hosted by the Swedish minister for culture and sports, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth.Famous for the colours of the rainbow that grace the city each year at this time, Stockholm is a welcoming place for all LGBT.The celebration of Pride is one of the most colourful events in the Scandinavian capital.

5:01 PM — Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington has said that if he could do a repeat performance of the heated argument with former so-star Patrick Dempsey, he would have opted for the "n-word."Instead Washington used the word 'faggot' a choice that eventually led to him being dropped from the show.He claims that he was in fact referring to himself when he used the homophobic slur during the argument with Dempsey and not their co-star, T.R. Knight.

4:49 PM — An award-winning gay journalist and activist as announced he is now an ex-gay.Michael Glatze founded the Young Gay America magazine and received awards such as the National Role Model Award from leading homosexual rights organisation Equality Forum.He also produced a well-received documentary film on suicides of gay teenagers in the US.

4:16 PM — The organisation that represents doctors in the USA has voted to amend its non-discrimination policies to include transgender people.The American Medical Association's non-discrimination policies already included sexual orientation."Transgender patients, physicians and medical students continue to face discrimination around the country," Joel Ginsberg, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), said.

4:10 PM — A short promotional film released by the EU to promote their support for European films has caused a ruckus among Euro MPs.Entitled Film Lovers Will Love This, The 44-second ad has been posted on YouTube, and features couples - including gay men and lesbians - having sex.Produced by the European Commission's communications unit, it features short clips from a range of films.

1:35 PM — Movie actor John Travolta has hit back at a gay journalist's assertion that Scientology advocates "curing" homosexuality.Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade, criticised Mr Travolta for playing the lead in a re-make of camp classic film Hairspray. The original 1988 version starred a young Ricki Lake as Tracy Turnblad.

1:05 PM — Has anyone ever double-checked the door sign when they saw you standing in the bathroom?Then you are familiar with the bathroom issue many people who do not match certain stereotypical gender norms have to deal with.The reaction of a bouncer in New York City, who evicted a woman from the bathroom of a Mexican restaurant in Greenwich Village, still seems outrageous.

12:54 PM — The Pride Parade in Berlin took place last week and for the seventh time, the organisers recognised moral courage of individuals and organisations with the "Zivilcourage-Preis" (the Civil Courage Award.)Among those honoured was a German member of the European Parliament, Lissy Gröner.The Social Democrat is a vocal advocate for gay, lesbian and female rights and was first elected into the EU Parliament in 1989.

12:30 PM — In a remarkable discovery in the hunt for a cure for HIV, scientists in Germany may finally have found a way to remove HIV from infected cells, a study released today revealed.According to Science magazine, researchers working on the deadly virus have engineered an enzyme that attacks the HIV virus and cuts it out of the infected cell.Although the enzyme TRE is far from ready, it offers hope for the more than 40 million people around the world who are HIV+

12:21 PM — Nick Boles, a Conservative seeking his party's nomination to run against Ken Livingstone in next year's election for Mayor of London has withdrawn from the race.The 42-year-old has been diagnosed with cancer and is pulling out to undergo treatment.Mr Boles, who is openly gay, was a parliamentary candidate in the 2005 election. He came within 500 votes of winning Hove.

11:30 AM — GaydarRadio added yet another trophy to their cabinet yesterday, after being named Commercial Radio Digital Station of the Year at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards 2007.Earlier this year they won a Gold Sony award and was named UK Digital Terrestrial Station of the Year in April.The Arqiva judges said GaydarRadio, "had established a presence in major gay community events and added diversity to digital broadcasting."

11:30 AM — This is an exciting opportunity to support Stonewall's work. You will help develop policy on a range of issues impacting on the lives of lesbians and gay men across Britain. Able to support both our research and policy activities, you'll have good analytical and communication skills.

11:20 AM — 70% of young gays and lesbians in Scottish schools have also revealed their feelings towards they unsafe environment they have to endure on a daily basis.Scottish schools are realising that bullying is a issue among young people and represents a living hell for most.Homophobia can be directed towards its victim in many ways and can be extremely damaging whether it is physical, emotional or verbal, between young people.

2nd July 2007

6:05 PM — Nick Herbert, the MP for Arundel and South Downs and one of only a handful of openly gay Tory MPs, has been promoted to the shadow Cabinet by David Cameron as part of a reshuffle.Mr Herbert only became an MP in 2005 and is seen as a rising star. He was the first ever out gay man elected as a Tory MP. Fellow openly gay MP, Alan Duncan was reappointed to the shadow Cabinet.Francis Maude, who spoke exclusively to PinkNews.co.uk about the death of his brother from AIDS, has been moved from the key role of Party Chairman.

5:37 PM — Nicolas Alexeyev has welcomed comments from Mayor of London Ken Livingstone indicating he might be willing to attend next year's Moscow Pride.The Russian gay rights activist was one of the principal organisers of this year's banned gay rights march in Moscow.In an exclusive interview with PinkNews.co.uk to mark London Pride, Mr Livingstone said he would consider attending Moscow Pride in 2008, if it does not clash with his campaign to for re-election.

5:05 PM — The newspaper of the Anglican Church in Ireland has launched a scathing attack on Ian Paisley Jnr over his recent homophobic outburst.The junior minister in the Northern Ireland government and member of the DUP has been under attack for accusing gay and lesbian people of harming society with their "repulsive" sexuality.Mr Paisley has refused to back down from his comments.

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